HannStar Display Corp (
"The construction of the 6G plant indicates that HannStar is expanding into manufacturing bigger panels for TVs as the advanced plant will be used to cut 32-inch and 37-inch glass substrates for TVs," HannStar chairman Chiao Yu-chi (焦佑麒) said yesterday.
Chiao made the remark at a ground-breaking ceremony for the company's new plant in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區).
The liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panel player, a major supplier of 15-inch panels used for personal computers, began diversifying its products last year after the construction of its first fifth-generation plant was completed, he said.
Hannstar Display, which trades on the Gretai Securities Market (
The company's new 6G factory is expected to begin mass production as soon as the end of next year, HannStar president Wu Tai-kang (吳大剛) said.
He declined to reveal their investment figures and the full capacity of the new fab.
"Our evaluation is still under way and we haven't reached a final decision," Wu said.
Giving a rough idea of the spending plan, Wu told reporters that a 6G fab with capacity of 90,000 panels a month would cost up to NT$90 billion.
The 5G factory is scheduled to begin mass production next month.
Wu said shipments in January and last month fell short of expectations due a disappointing defect rate.
In January, HannStar shipped about 392,000 units because of fewer working days, but the volume was expected to increase 5 percent last month, driven by strong demand, Wu said.
"A shortage in panel supply is a fact as we can see flat-panel giant Samsung Electronics Co aggressively seeking support from outside," he said.
Some of HannStar's customers even agreed to buy the company's 15-inch panels at a higher price of US$245 per sheet, which is close to the US$260 when the price peaked last year, according to the company.
As long as demand remains strong, Wu said he did not expect to see a supply glut in the second quarter.
Shipments are expected to take off during the April-June period after the 5G plant ramps up production, he added. Seventeen-inch, 19-inch, 23-inch and 28-inch panels will be the company's major products in the first half of this year, he added.
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